Eating my evening bowl of cereal I wonder why ritual is so calming. Every morning the first thing I do is turn on the coffeemaker. Some vehemently insist I set the timer—but I don’t. The measuring out of the coffee, the adding of water and the final press of the button are part of a ritual that transitions me from sleep to workday. Coffee bars have built a business on tying ritual to stimulant.
Every coffee joint has ‘regulars’ that purchase the same drink the same days of the week. It’s only partially about the caffeine. I have roughly the same conversation with the ‘regulars’ everyday; “Investors are coming by this morning. Give me an extra Lemon-poppy. Did it get this hot last April?” I work the morning shift. The customers come in to transition from their home to their workday. Coffee is the lubricant between the two.
There is that electrical charge that comes from the first sip of the latte. It’s heightened because the work day adrenaline is beginning to flow. Night is slipping away, dopamine is almost fully flushed from bloodstream and cells are flowing faster. Fully transitioned the last bit of coffee is inhaled as the elevator stops on the office floor.
Photo courtesy of Waferboards photostream on Flickr.
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